Posted by (Susan Gillespie) on August 07, 2010

How long did it take your other cassia beauty to grow up? Isn’t this one right one schedule. Looks like all she needs is a little staking to stand tall and straight. My vote is to keep her.

The buddleia is not my favorite plant. They never look really good. Yank! The sunflowers, not sure. I didn’t know they lasted past one flowering. And the gaillardia, I’d keep. Reseeders get to stay.

Posted by (TheNeighbor) on August 08, 2010

If you’re just going to throw Jr out, maybe we can try him in that spot by my driveway that we talked about a couple of weeks ago?

Posted by (Susan Gillespie) on August 08, 2010

Here’s what Farmer Rick said about buddleia on the “Florida Gardeners on Facebook” page the other day.
Buddleija-Butterfly Bush is a poor choice in Florida’s sandy soils as it’s roots are quicklly attacked by nematodes and the plants die. Rust disease and spider mites also make it an impossible Florida butterfly plant.

Posted by (Chip) on August 08, 2010

That is funny if you think of it. Diane like Kim , will yank a non productive plant without remorse. I on the other hand will hold on till the bitter end. We meet some where in the middle. Our Harlequin honeysuckle is at the top of the yank don’t yank list here it should have taken over the spot it is in by now, instead one lonely branch is growing. We are moving it over to the kids house where they a lot better soil. I still hate the thought of giving up but this beats having it end up in the compost bin…“Chip”

Posted by (Susan Gillespie) on August 08, 2010

The trial and error stuff can be painful. That whole right plant, right place thing. I guess, after awhile, that’s where wisdom sinks in——hopefully. Thank God for all the wisdom that show’s up on The Dirt or it would take us a lot longer.

Posted by (Chip) on August 08, 2010

I think sometimes we all can “over love” a plant and if just left alone will do just fine. But it has been way to long on the honeysuckle which by the way is a Yankee! I knew if I looked deep enough would find one! Two years and only one lonely branch to show for it. Moving it to the kids house is Diane’s Idea and a good one I think…“Chip”

Posted by (Chip) on August 08, 2010

Just a nice lazy day! I should have weeded, I didn’t I was going to help paint the shed I couldn’t. I did watch a race and catch a nap! I love rainy Sundays….“Chip”

Posted by (kgardens) on August 08, 2010

Oh Penny, you have the same plants with the same decisions as I.  The cassia going to your neighbor is a good idea.  I whack mine back every spring and it gets bushier.  But it wouldn’t be my pick for a center of the yard type of tree.  It’s more sprawling bush leaning against the fence type.  With the Butterfly bush, I have never had any last.  I try every spring to grow at least one.  This year, for some reason, I have one that has done well and so far is still doing well.  But, when it declines I think I’m done with that plant.  My branching sunflower had to go a few weeks ago.  I just couldn’t deal with it any more. It was a lot of fun while it lasted though. Blanket flowers got yanked too.

Posted by (Iluvpumpkins) on August 09, 2010

Hello everyone, Got home very last last night from vacation and trying to catch up on things. Gardening is very strange in Florida, one type of plant does great in one spot and does not bloom in another. In my yard all my milkweed are blooming, but at the school they are doing nothing, so I am going to try and amend the soil with the worm castings.
Penny, My blanket flowers look bad this time of the year too. But on the highways where they do not mow they look great, go figure. I read somewhere to stagger your sunflower planting for longer blooming time. We all just need more time.  Pumpkin

Posted by (Iluvpumpkins) on August 09, 2010

Penny,The answer is a big YES! I gave one to Sally and it is about 20 feet tall maybe taller. I will take a picture of it tomorrow and everyone can see how beautiful they are. With enough room of course.The fragrance from that tree is unbelievable.
The mountains, the food, the hosts were perfect. Could eat outside without sweating. Pumpkin

Posted by (Janna) on August 10, 2010

Welcome back, Pumpkin! Glad to hear that you had a nice vacation and a reprieve from this heat.

I’m not surprised that I am dealing with the same dilemmas as the rest of you FODs! Just when I went to yank the blanketflower, it had more blooms than I’ve seen in a couple of weeks. I’ll leave it a little longer. As for the branching sunflowers, although they have a few blooms, they are beginning to look like they are suffering from heat exhaustion (as am I) so I will be taking them out. Don’t worry, Penny - I bet you’ll get tons of volunteers in that spot next spring.

Posted by (Chip) on August 10, 2010

Hey Pumpkin! sound like you had fun. I had one lazy day but I am right back at it. Got to make room for the fall garden so yank and compost is the order of the day. next is redoing the compost beds I dread this. We did so well with the the Brussels sprouts last year we are doubling them. I never covered them not even once. this fall garden the things I may need to cover later are all going to be in one general area not spread out! and less of them, more cold hardy stuff. This is a gamble if we have a warm winter the cold hardy stuff will not do as well. Anyone have a crystal ball? opinions? I now know why Farmers are always taking of the weather..“Chip”

Posted by (Susan Gillespie) on August 10, 2010

Welcome home Pumpkin. You peaked my interest with the mention of worm castings. Do you have your own worm farm or do you just buy the castings? If you have a farm I want to know a little bit more about it and if you buy the castings I’d love to know where.

Posted by (Iluvpumpkins) on August 10, 2010

Susan, This is the site for worn bin whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/easywormbin.htm. It is a good way to get rid of old lettuce and fruits. Worms Way sells worm casting as well and they are local. Pumpkin

Posted by (Susan Gillespie) on August 10, 2010

I have a ton of questions about maintenance and where to put them before I even think of trying this but I love the recycling aspect and the beautiful castings they produce. I will make the trek to Worms Way to ask the experts, Mangoman and visit the website you provided, Pumpkin. Thanks

Posted by (Iluvpumpkins) on August 10, 2010

Susan, If you decide to try this the worms are cheaper at Shells Feed on Nebraska Ave. Pumpkin

Posted by (Susan Gillespie) on August 10, 2010

Thanks Pumpkin. Are your bins out in the open or under cover? Do they do well in the heat and rain? How about cold weather?

Posted by (Iluvpumpkins) on August 10, 2010

They are under a tree in the open. They say nothing smells worse then dead worms in the sun!I know they need to be kept warm, so if we got another big freeze they would have to be put in a garage or shed. On my garden blog we took picture of the kids making them,the title of that blog was Worm Bin.It is not a messy project at all. Pumpkin

Posted by (Chip) on August 11, 2010

Susan we had bob ranch for a while. And it was easy. If I were to start them again I would have   a paper shredder, and I wouldn’t be so cheep on the bin. Ours was a thin cheep plastic one that didn’t last to long outside. Diane and I said we wanted to try again just never got around to it. Maybe now is a good time to give it another try…“Chip”